Grader for fruits, vegetables, and other articles



` 1508.416' H. A. SH ELDON GRADER Foa FRUITS. VEGETABLES, AND OTHER ARTICLES Sept. 16 m24.

lFiled Feb. 419 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 16, 1924-.

' H. A. SHELDON- l GRADER FOR'FRUITSI VEGETABLES, AND OTHER ARTICLES Filed Feb. 19. 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 16 1924.- H. A. SHELDON AND OTHERl ARTICLES GRADER FOR FRUITS, VEGETABLES Filed Feb. 19'. 1921 3 sheets-sheet s CII Patented Sept. 16, 1924..

HENRY A.

SHELDON, OF QSUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO PERLESS IIUSIKERl COMPANY, 0F BUFFALO, NEW YORK, A` COPARTNERSHIP.

GRADER FOR FRUITS, VEGETABLES, .ANDI OTHER ARTICLES. i

Application filed February 19, 1921. Serial No. 446,250.

To LZZ wiz-0m t may concern.:

Be it known that I, HENRY a citizen of Canada, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie* and VState of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Graders for Fruits, Vegetables, and Other Articles, of which the following is a specification. y

This invention relates to a machine for automatically feeding, classifying, separating and grading a miscellaneous quantity of material into di'erent sizes, and relates more particularly to a machine for grading string beans or small attenuated fruits vand vegetables which have irregular size.

The object of the invention is to reliably and uninterruptedly classify, separate or grade the fruit or vegetables, either just as they come infrom the fields, without any preliminary treating of the same, or after preliminary operations have been performed on them, and to do this work without any liability of cloggingthe machine or varying or altering the quality of any of the streams of graded fruit or vegetables which issue therefrom.

In the accompanyingv drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the complete 'grading machine with the lower part thereof broken away. Figure 2 is averticalv longitudinal section thereof, taken on line 2-2, Fig. 3. Figure 3 is a horizontal section through the grading machine and taken on line SMS, Fig. 1. Figure 4 is a fragmentary vertical transverse sectionthrough the grading machine taken on line 1*4, Figs. 2 and 3.

Similar `characters of reference refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In its general organization, this machine comprises a main frame and a set or a plurality of sets of grading bars. Any desired number of sets of grading bars may be employed but in the drawings four sets are.

shown as an example. 1n the drawings the bars of each setare shown as inclined from the head end to the tail end ofthe set, but they may be employed in other positions. rI he bars are spaced apart to permit material of a size less than the width of the spaces between the bars to pass downwardly through these spaces whilev the material larger than these spaces escapes fromV the tail end of these bars or in case the bars A. SHELDON,

were set in a horizontal position, the material would then escape over the side of the bars. 'In the machine as shown in the accompanying drawings, the grading bars of the several sets incline alternately in opposite di-'i rections so that the head of one set is above the tail of the set next below and thus cause' the material passing through one set of bars to fallupon the next lower set of bars, them' width ofthe spaces between the grading bars being progressively narrower from the uppermost set to the lowermost set. It is obvious that this arrangement can be altered to lsuit, the particular articles being handled. The following description of the details ofy one of these sets of grading bars, their operating` mechanism and the part-s.y .associated therewith 'apply to the other sets of grading lbars and the corresponding companion parts. j

The main, stationary Vframe of the grader may be variouslyfabricated, but the same preferably consists of a rigid, framework comprising four uprightsor standards disposed at the four cornersfof the machine and rigidly joined together at their upper ends by four horizontal tie beams 11 and intermediately stiened and connected to-y gether by means ofanumber of horizontal stiifening bars 12. Avplurality, of oscillation shafts 13, 14,15, 16 and 17 are disposed parallel to each other and journaled in bearings 19 on the frontend rear outer faces ofthe main frame. These shafts are all driven from a main driving pulley vwheel 20, preferably securedto the shaft 14, and are caused to be simultaneously rotated by means of a plurality of chain belts` 21 and sprocket wheels 211, as shown in Fig. 1. A reversal of rotation is obtained'in the` two rear oscillation shafts and 16 and also in the` lowermost front oscillation shaft 17, by Ameans of an intermediate or stubV jack shaft 151 (noteFigs. 1 and 3) which shaft is driven from the main driving oscillation shaft 14C vby means of a chain beltand has secured thereto a spur gear 22 which, in turn, meshes with a spur gear 2,3,aiflxed`vto the .lower rear oscillation shaftle Coniining our attention, for the present, to the drive oscillation shaft 14, thefsame provided with a longitudinal keyway which extends straight longitudinally and substantially the entire length of'said oscil-v of, and i's'p'ositione'd at an equal angular distance behind the eccentric which is immediately adjacent onr the other Lside thereof. That is, the eccentric centers of 'the eccentri'cs form a' spiral or helical 'path around the sa-id drive shaft 14. In the arrangement illustrated in the` drawings, each eccentric is sixty degrees ahead of its fellow, so that the length of a wave or complete spiral of the said helicaly pathv is e'qualvto the width of siX' of such eccentrics, as best shown in Fig. 4. k0f course, this wave length can be altered by either' altering the width of the eccentrics or by altering the angular or circumferential displacement between adjacent eCCIltIiCS.

Secured individually to the central rear partfof each eccentric strap 28 is a grading bar' 29 which inclin'es downwardly and away from the said drive shaft la. Extending upwardly from the rear lower face of each grading bar is a guide slot 8O which extends centrally and longitudinally of said grading bar and is of less width than the width or transverse, horizontal thickness of the said grading bar. Secured suitably to the main frame of the machine are horizontally and outwardly projecting brackets 31 which carry', at their outer ends, a horizontal transverse supporting bar 32. Extending vupwardly andbthen inwardly from the upper face of said supporting bar are a plurality ofv l.-shaped guide fingers 33. Each guide finger is" received within one of the aforesaid guide slotsl 30 of a companion grading bar, so that the lower end of each bar is restrained against transverse displacement, the said guide linger bearing laterally against the vertical side walls of the companion guide slot 30. It may be noted that inasmuch as this guide slot extends upwardly from thelower face of the grading bar, it follows? that the upper and side faces of said grading bar are smooth and unbroken and free fr'm` projections. lt should also be noted, that although the eccentrics are arranged face to face, the grading bars are spaced apart relatively to each other. Therefore if string beans or other articles are placed upon the upper faces of said grading bars, such beans or other articles will fall through between the said grading bars as arev either equal in width or less in width than the distance between adjacent grading bars. The space between the uppermost set of grading bars (which are cennected to the uppermost oscillation shaft i3) is relatively great. yl`hus, as the ungraded, heterogeneous mass of beans or other articles which are fed into the feeding hopper 35 fall onto the Lipper faces of the head of the uppermost grading bars 29, only the coarsest of this mass of beans, or other articles, are able to roll all the way down upon the upper faces of said bars and drop off the lower or j tail end of the incline thereof. Thus all but the very coarsest of said beans, or other articles, are dropped onto the set of grading bars which are connected with the oscillation shaft 16. lThese last nientioned grading bars are somewhat closer together than are. the uppermost grading bars, that is, `the intervening space between adjacent grading bars is narrower in width.

As before stated, only the coarsest of the beans, or other articles, which drop through the bars connected to the shaft 13 are able to travel down the entire length of the second set of grading bars and fall off the lower or tail end thereof. The rest of the beans or other articles drop through onto the third set of grading barsv next below (attached to oscillating shaft 14e) where as before the intervening space between said bars is less in width than the distance between the bars of the set immediate-ly above, and again the coarsest of the remaining beans or other articles are moved down the sloping surface of said bars and dropped oil' the lower end of the slope thereof. This same procedure is repeated with reference to the lowermost set of grading bars il, which latter are however actuated somewhat differently, though not necessarily', from the upper three sets of grading bars 29.

For the purposes of explanation, it may be assumed that the theoretical heliXes of the oscillation shafts (formed by the graphs of all of the eccentric centers of the eccentrics) entend circuinferentially back in the direction of the arrows shown in Figs. l and 2, which arrows indicate the rotation of the oscillation shafts. The upper surfaces of the grading bars are, as best seen in Fig. il, of the shape of waves or sinusoidal rounded ridges which entend parallel and longitudinally of the machine. These waves are caused to progress laterally of the machine and laterally of the direction in which the waves extend, by reason of the rotation of the companion oscillation shaft and the arrangement of the eccentrics 2G. in the case of the uppermost set of bars 29 i e, which may be termed the primary grading bars), this wave motion is laterally of the machine from the rear side of the machine, as shown in F l and 2 forwardly and laterally, toward the forward side thereof. rllhis wave motion causes the beans or other articles to be moved laterally of the machine, so that the bulli of the same are carried over to one side of the saine. The beans or other articles are prevented from entirely moving laterally olf from the grading bars, by reason of a guard plate 18, one of which is secured to each of the outermost grading bars, except where it is desirable to discharge over the side of the bars rather than the end, in which case the guard plate 18 is remo-ved. The shaft 16 is rotated in the opposite direction from the shaft 13 and hence the lateral Wave movement in the particular set of grading bars 29 which are actuated by the said oscillation shaft 16 (i. e., which may be termed the secondary gading bars) is in a lateral direction which is opposite to the lateral wave movement of the said primary grading bars aforementioned. Tnasmuch as the bulk 0f the beans or other articles have been thus deposited on the one lateral side of said secondary grading bars, and inasmuch as the lateral wave movement is toward the other side of the machine, it follows that the bulk of the beans or other articles will be moved transversely across the entire width of the said secondary grading bars and across the entire width of the machine. It should be noted, however, that the waves themselves extend at all times longitudinally of the machine so that the beans, or other articles are forced to maintain a longitudinal position in the trough of the waves and thus be maintained iii the most favorable position for falling through between the bars. If a pluralityofbeans, or other articles, happen `to be still connected by the common stem upon which they grew, each individual bean, or other article, will tend to assume a lengthwise position in the said trough and if it is narrow enough, it will fall through and be pulled downwardly off from the stem by reason of the up and down relative movenient of the adjacent grading bars.- This occurs because the adjacent grading bars move up and down relatively to each other despite the fact that the wave tops move uniformly horizontally in the one continuous lateral direction. This is exactly analogous to a water wave in which the wave sweeps uniformly horizontally, but the adjacent water particles move up and down relatively to each other. lt will be obvious also that this alternate up and down movement of the adjacent grading bars, prevents any clogging of beans or other material tlierebetween, as is t-he case with an ordinary rotary drum grader in which the opposite sides of the apertures are stationary relatively to each other.

Tt is obvious that, as the beans, or other articles, are travelling laterally, they are also caused to slide longitudinally downwardly, thus helping to aline the beans, or other articles, in the bottom of the wave troughs,

so that they can readily fall through. This longitudinal movement also causes the coai'ser beans, or other articles, and the stem branches to be moved downwardly and dropped olf the lower end of the inclined upper surfaces of" the grading bars.l lit is axiomatic that when any one of the grading bars isl being elevated, its frictional contact with the beans, or other articles, thereupon is greatest. This fact is made to perform a very useful function in this improved grader, the arrangement being such that as each bar rises upwardly it is also moving longitudinally toward the high end of the grading bars.- This tendency to move the beans, or other articles, longitudinally toward the higher ends of the bars is an alternating tendency and opposes the normal longitudinal slidingmoveinent of the beans or other articles'toward the lower end of the incline. The result obtained thereby is that the beans or other articles are shuffled longitudinally, and alternately moved at a higher speed toward the lower end of the incline, and incidentally during the same short space of time during which a trough is being formed which is the same time and position when the beans or other articles are most likely to fall through between the bars;

lt is obvious that a considerable portion of the beans or other articles will fall through between the grading bars before having traveled very far down the inclined faces` not, however, obtain in this improved grader, v

by reason of the fact that beneath each set of grading bars (except of course the lowermost set), is arranged a conveyer 37 which is inclined in the saine direction as' are the companion grading bars immediately above the same. This conveyor consists of a plurality of longitudinal parallel conveyer bars 39, whose upper, outer, or front ends are suitably secured to the flat lower faces ,of companion eccentric straps 28. llvery one of the conveyer bars 89 is disposed in very close horizontal juxtaposition to its neighboring conveyer bar, as it is not intended that any beans, o-r other articles, should fall through between said conveyer bars, inasmuch as the sole object of the conveyer bars lio is to convey the beans or other articles such as fall upon it), down toward the upper end of the set of inclined grading bars immediately below. It is furthermoredesirable to i chine. For this reason the upper faces of the said conveyer bars 39 are each provided with rip saw or ratchet teeth lill, which hasten the beans or other articles donunvardly as the conveyer bars are moved longitudinally hach and forth. 'lhe movement of these conveyer bars causes a continuous wave motion which ini-- pels the beans or other articles to move laterally toward the one side of the grader in the same manner in which the beans or other articles are forced to move laterally by the lateral wave motion of the grading bars. This is obvious inasmuch as each conveyer bai' 39 is connected to the same eccentric strap as its companion grader bar. As far as the conveyer feature is concerned, each set of these conveyer bars might be replaced by a suitably inclined or tipped stationary sheet metal conveyer slide, but the construction shown is preferred, inasmuch as there is always some foreign matter adhering to and some long stems connected with, the beans or other articles and for this reason the jostling motion (to which the beans or other articles are subjected by reason of the conveyer bars) is very desirable in removing this foreign matter from the beans or other articles and loosening and pulling the stems eti' from the same.

The lowermost set of grading bars di are constructed and actuated (though not necessarily) somewhat differently from the upper three sets of grading bars. rlhe only difference however is that the bars and hence also the beans are subjected to a somewhat more vigorous treatment. Each of said grading bars el is secured at its upper end to an eccentric strap i2 in a manner similar to the other sets of grading bars, and hence is similarly actuated both as to its lateral wave movement and also as to its longitudinal movement. The lower end of each of said bars il is however connected to an additional eccentric strap 43, which latter is actuated by an eccentric 2G on the shaft 17 in synchronism with its companion upper eccentric strap 42. The result is that the height of each wave is uniform for its entire length whereas in the case of the other three upper sets of grading bars, the height of the waves shades off to Zero over the supporting bars However, the machine could be made with two eccentrics on all of the bars, or only with one eccentric on all of the bars.

lt is desirable that all of the eccentrics receive a reasonable amount of lubrication. To prevent the lubricant from dropping onto the conveyer immediately below, a. number of suitable horizontal drip pans iii are provided, one of which is arranged under and parallel with eac-h one of the oscillation shafts and is suitably and removably connected to the main upright frame bars l0. This machine is capable of accurately, quickly and uninterruptedly grading string beans or other fruits and vegetables even though the ends of the saine bev partly nu lated or connected with either loose or si.. i stems. y'lhis is true because the n'iaehinc grades according to the width of the bean or other article and this width is in the middle of the bean or article, which is the strongest part of the same, is the least lihely to be decayed and is farthest removed from the more or less variable ends of the same. The machine is applicable for grading of any fruits or vegetables whatsoever, such beans, peas, hushed corn, corn kernels, gears, cucumbers, etc., particularly where a ing as to width is desired rl`his mach particularly adapted for the handl g of any elongated materi l where the only posi-- tive grading obtainable is on the basis of the width of the material or where the materia, is so irregular as to be liable to clog an ordinary grader having apertures in ined relation relatively to each other.

By making the machine with the horizontal instead of inclined the machine could be used to grade articles which are spherical in shape and which would there fore roll off the inclined bars before a proper grading could be obtained.

l claim as my invention:

l. Ai grader of the character desc comprising a plurality of parallel, loi gitudinal bars which are inclined from vtheir head or receiving ends toward their tail or delivery ends and which are spaced laterally from each other, and actuating means for reciprocating said bars lengthwise and ribrating the same vertically so that as a whole the upper surfaces of the same produce a wave-like motion crosswise of the several bars and cause the material resting thereon to move by gravity diagonallyv over the several bars from the head end to the tail end of the same, the crest of each wave being formed by a plurality of bars, the iuclined sides of the waves being formed by a plurality of bars and the trough of the waves being formed by a plurality of bars. '2. A. grader of the character described7 comprising a plurality of parallel, lonk tudinal bars which are inclined from their head or receiving ends toward their tail or delivery ends and which are spaced later-- ally from each other, and actuating means for reciprocating said bars lengthwise and vibrating the same vertically so that as a whole the upper surfaces of the same produce a wave-like motion crosswise of the several bars and cause the material resting thereon to move by gravity diagonally over the several bars from the head end to the tail end of the same, said actuating means being constructed to vibrate the head end of the bars more than the tail ends of the same, the crest of each wave being formed by a plurality of bars, the inclined sides of the waves lbeing formed by a plurality of bars and the trough of the waves being formed by a plurality of bars.

3. A grader .of the character described, comprising a plurality of parallel, longitudinal bars which are inclined from their head or receiving ends toward their tail or delivery ends and which are spaced laterally from each other, and actuating means for reciprocating said bars lengthwise and vibrating the same vertically so that as a whole the upper surfaces` of the same produce a wave-like motion crosswise of the several bars and cause the material resting thereon to move by gravity diagonally over the several bars from the head end to the tail end of the same, said actuating means being constructed to cause said bars to move toward the head ends of the same while in their upper position, the crest of each wave being formed by a plurality of bars, the inclined sides of the waves being formed by a plurality of bars and the trough of the waves being formed by a plurality of bars.

4. A grader for fruits, vegetables, etc., comprising a plurality of primary grading barsv in spaced relationship relatively to each other, a plurality of secondary grading bars arranged below the said primary grading bars, means for moving the fruits or vegetables lying on the. upper surfaces of said primary bars in a direction laterally of said bars, and means for moving the fruits of vegetables lying on the upper surfaces of said secondary bars in a lateral direction which is opposite to the lateral movement of the vegetables lying on said primary bars.

5. A grader for fruits, vegetables, etc., comprising a plurality of substantially parallel primary grading bars, means for giving said primary grading bars a sinusoidal or wave movement which travels laterally in the one direction, a plurality of secondary grading bars arranged below the said primary grading bars, and means for giving said secondary grading bars a sinusoidal or wave movement which travels in a lateral'direction oppositely to the sinusoidal movement of said primary grading bars.

6. A grader for fruits, vegetables7 etc., comprising a plurality of substantially parallel, primary grading bars, a plurality of substantially parallel, secondary grading bars arranged below said primary bars, means for moving the fruits or vegetables laterally of said primary grading bars in the one direction, and means for moving the fruits or vegetables laterally of said secondary grading bars in a direction opposite to the movement of the fruits or vegetables on said primary bars.

7. A grader for fruits, vegetables, etc., comprising' a plurality of primary grading bars, a plurality of secondary grading bars, and means for creating atransverse, sinusoidal or wave movement in bothsets of grading bars, the travel of said wave movement in the primary grading bars being in va ydirection opposite to that of the travel of the wave movement in the secondary grading bars. l i y 1 8. A grader of the character described,

comprising a plurality of parallel, longitu- 'toward the heads ends ofthe` same while in their upper position, comprising a ,plural-` ity of eccentrics associated with the bars, re-

spectiv'ely, and eachy eccentricbeing a fraccentrics of the adjacent bars, the crest of each wavebeing formed by a plurality of bars, the inclined sides of the waves being formed by a plurality of *barsv and the trough of the waves being formed by a plu rality of bars. l Y

9. A grader. for fruits, vegetables, etc., comprising a drive shaft, a plurality of eccentricsarranged on said shaft and arranged progressively an equalangular 4 distance ahead' of each other, Va supporting bar,` a plurality of guide lingersv extendingfupwardly from said supporting bar, and aplurality of grading bars secured individually to said eccentrics, and individually pro-` vided with longitudinal -`slots at their lower ends which ext-end upwardlyfrom the lower surfaces thereof and receive the aforesaid guide fingers. y10. A grader for fruits, vegetables, etc., comprising a drive shaft, aplurality of eccentrics arranged on said shaft and arranged arofrressivel an e ual anoular dis- D l t) 2D tance ahead of each other, a supporting bar, a plurality of guide fingers extending upwardly from said supporting bar, and a plurality of grading bars secured individually to said eccentrics, and individually provided with longitudinal slots at their lower ends which extend upwardly from the lower surfaces thereof and receive the aforesaid guide fingers, each of said slots being of less width than the width of the respective grading bar in which it is formed.

1l. A grader for fruits, vegetables, etc., comprising a plurality of inclined grading bars arranged in spaced relationship relation behind and a fraction ahead ofthe ec- .tively to each other, means for oscillating one 'after another of said grading bars, and an ilnclinedvconveyer disposed beneath said grading sbars'and adapted to convey longitudinally the vegetables which fall through between the said grading bars.

1.2. A grader for fruitsj vegetables, etc.7 comprising a plurality ot grading bars spaced .relatively :to each othery conveyer bars disposed' beneath said grading bars, and means for oscillating said'grading bars, tor producing a transverse ivave motion ot' the same tor moving vegetables transversely on the upper surfaces of said grading bars and similarly on the upper surface ot said conveyer bars, thecrest ot each wave being termed by a plurality of bars, the inclined sides of the Waves being formed by a plurality of bars .and the trough of the Waves bei-ng formed by a plurality ot bars.

13. A grader for fruits7 vegetables, etc.7 comprising a plurality of grading bars, a con-veyer arranged beneath said grading bars, and means for creating sinusoidal Waves in both the said grading bars and the said 4conveyer7 Which Waves in both eases move transversely of the grader.

14E. A grader for fruits, vegetables, etc., comprising a plurality of grading bars spaced relatively to each other, a plurality ol conveyer bars arranged in juxtaposition to each other and disposed beneath said grading bars, and means for oscillatingsaid grading bars and said conveyer bars.

15. A grader tor fruits, vegetables, etc., comprising a plurality of grading :bars spaced relatively to each other, a plurality of conveyer bars arranged in juxtaposition to each other and disposed beneath said grading bars and provided with ratchet teeth, and means for oscillating said grad# ing land bconveyer barsE i' "1.6: A grader for fruits, vegetablese etc., comprising a plurality of inclined grading bars, a ldrive shaft, a plurality of eccentrics secured to said drive shaft and arranged progressively an equal angular distance aheadot each other and secured to said gradnig bars a plurality of inclined conrecentie veyer bars arranged in juxtaposition and E,

secured individually to said eccentrics and individually provided `with ratchet teethv l?. A grader 'tor truits,.vegetables, comprising a plurality of superimposed sets oit grading bars, eachl alternate set be ing inclined in the same direction and the relative spacing` oitl the grading bars in the sets being progressively less, a set ot' conveyer bars in juxtaposition to each other arranged beneath each set oit grading barsj and means tor oscillating the grading` ba 1s ot each ot said grading bar sets.

18. A grader for fruits, vegetables, etc.X comprising a drive shatt7 a plurality ot grading bars connected With said shaft and oscillated thereby, and a drip pan arranged beneath and disposed lengthwise ot said drive shaft.

19. A grader for fruits, vegetables and other articles comprising a plurality ot substantially parallel primary grading bars. a plurality ol' substantially parallel, secondary grading bars, means Yfor moving the fruits7 vegetables, etc., laterally ot said primary grading bars in one direction and means for moving the fruits, vegetables, etc. laterally of said secondary grading bars in the opposite direction.

20. A grader for fruits7 vegetables, ctr., comprising a plurality oft substantially parn allel primary grading bars, a plurality ol' substantially parallel. secondary grading bars, means for moving the fruits, vega tables7 etc. laterally ot said primary grading bars in one direction and means for moving the fruits7 vegetables, etc., laterally ot said secondary grading bars in another direction.

A grader tor fruits, vegetables.y ctc.,

comprising a plurality of primary grat ne bars, glurality orP secondary grading bars, and means tor creating transverse, sinusoidal Aor Wave movement in both lsets of grading birsi the direction of travel of said Wave movement in both sets of bars being in opposition to `each other. l

HENRY A. SHELDON. 

